1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for controlling the bulk supply of material to be dispensed through a robot system. More specifically, the invention relates to a method for controlling the reloading of material into the bulk supply system in a manner that reduces the amount of material stationed in the bulk supply system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacture of goods can often require the application of viscous materials. These materials may be used to paint, seal, coat, adhere, weld and the like. The material must be applied in a uniform and automated fashion. In many instances, the material is directed by a robot that has been programmed to apply materials to the items being manufactured or treated.
In many instances, several applicators are used for a particular product coating system. All of the applicators require material to operate. A standard deployment is shown as prior art in FIG. 1. Each of the six robots 11 shown require material from the bulk system, generally shown at 13. The rate at which the three robots and shotmeter pairs require material mandates at least three drums of material be stored adjacent thereto as bulk supply. Each of these drums requires two pumps to supply material at the rate demanded by the robots. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, each drum can supply 4.6 gallons per minute and each robot station requires 6.6 gallons per minute. Therefore, two drums must be active all the time with one inactive drum waiting as a stand by to the others.
This arrangement is costly due to the redundancy of parts. The drum and pump combinations are substantial investments due to their required size and robustness. The viscosity of the material being pumped can be quite high requiring the pumps to be heavy, rugged and costly. It is also costly because so much floor space is taken up to accommodate the drums.